Children at Risk assigns each North Texas School a letter grade after studying more than a dozen data points, including graduation rates, state test scores, attendance rates, and academic improvement. Dozens of elementary, middle, and high schools were given a failing grade.

"When we see a D and an F school, these are red flags for parents and for students, for them to wake up and see that maybe they should be looking at alternative schools." said Bob Sanborn, the president of Children At Risk. "We need to put pressure on administrators, leaders within the school, to change."

There are 27 "F" elementary schools in North Texas, and 14 "F" high schools.

Some schools aren't included in the lists because Children At Risk doesn't have updated annual data. Southlake Carroll High School, for example, is a perennial "A" school, but was omitted from this year's rankings because of missing graduation rate data.